Hello, hello! What an amazing opening ceremonies in London yesterday; I both laughed and teared up throughout the event! Well done, London, well done!

If you missed yesterday's post I am doing our very own Garage Games right here on the blog over the next two weeks spanning the Olympics. I am asking anyone and everyone to email me, (chelseasgarage@gmail.com), at least one photo of a home decor piece/project/craft/room that is reflective of their style and personality. It can be anything you want so long as it represents you. I will post the photos right here on the blog as they come in as a fun way of sharing our creativity and inspiring one another. At the end of the two weeks we will do a random drawing of all the people who submit photos for a chance to win a piece of jewelry from my jewelry box clean-out! I love accessorizing and have 14 fun pieces that have served me well for several years now, but alas, it's time to change things up and pass them on!

I have already received some fantastic photos to kick things off for us! I love the little explanations these gals sent along with their pics.

Our first participant submitted an awesome before and after of the ceiling fan in her daughter's nursery. The white really brightens up the room and draws the eye down to the adorable nursery decor. Well done!:

"I thought I would share the fan that I redid for Bella's nursery. I simply spray painted the base and fan blades." - M

This next gal was the lucky recipient of this fine sideboard table that her talented Mom found and refinished! I love the way she set up this gorg table with items that are as beautiful as they are meaningful to her.

"I love everything about this table. My mom bought it at a yard sale and refinished it to give it the lighter color/ distressed look it has now. The hydrangeas I dried out about a year ago and they came from my parent's yard. And of course the best part of this look is the cute picture of my pup, Lucy =o) The look of my apartment is very "beach cottage-ish" so the lantern and the seashells really pull together the look from the rest of the room." -K

Nice work! Thank you so much for sharing these awesome photos!

Thirteen days still remain to email me your photo(s)! Whatever you want; nothing is too big or too small to share! It's just fun to pass on ideas and inspire each other!

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend out there! I'll be working on a few newcomers to the garage while Matt works on our new landscape design. I am so excited for a fresh look to the outside of our home!!! The progress will be documented weekly as this will be an ongoing project over the next few weeks.

Thank you for stopping by!

~Chelsea

Hi Friends - I hope you are having a wonderful week! We have finally been given some sunny weather today after a chain of gray and rainy days. My little ones were so grateful for a trip to the playground this morning to play on the "Tunnow, swide and sings!" =Tunnel, slide, and swings for those not fluent in tot talk :)

I , too, enjoyed some playing of my own this afternoon. Over the past few days I've been working on a new addition for our dining room. This sweet little cabinet was just the perfect height for our not-so-grand dining room!

I have been wanting something for our short wall with a small 'footprint' that would still allow for plenty of walking space between the table/chairs. I say walking, but really, I mean running. Our main level is a high traffic area for our kiddos as they love to zoom around playing tag and hide and seek. While I wanted a piece with a bit of surface space, I also didn't want to sacrifice floor space for my kids. This fit the bill perfectly.

We have an outlet on that wall which I've been wanting to plug a lamp into since we moved in! I found this paper shade at Goodwill for 98 cents and painted it an aqua color to tie in some of the other blues/teals/aquas around this level.

What a sweet punch-out design! Not that ANYONE would ever notice this, but it reminded me of the celtic style knobs that I attached to the piece.

And our dining room would just not be complete without one of our family's all time favorite evening games: Dominoes! Now we've got a convenient spot to keep them, out of hiding and in the open. This antique set of Double Twelves was passed down to us from my husbands grandparents. How cool!

Our dining room; nothing fancy but we cherish our time around that table with dear family and friends. It's been a work in progress and seems to suit our {crazy} stage of life! 3 booster seats, (all Craigslist scores), for 3 wee hineys.

What? How did these pictures make it in?!? ;) *This* is my real project of the week:

Potty training.

The bane of my existence.

Our older two are twins, but I'm doing this one at a time. One's enough! Anyhow, I just thought I'd share some real pictures of what our house looks like at the moment. Dino potty on our main level and jars of m&m's lying around for 'successes'.

Okay, I can't leave you with a potty photo. Here's a pretty one, (or three). :) Matt got Shire and me a bouquet of flowers yesterday for all our hard work with potty training, (purple is Shire's favorite color). They took my breath away when i came downstairs this morning and the bright sun was beaming in. What a site to wake up to, huh?!

Much better; now, I can sign off. :) Thank you for popping by!

~Chelsea

The 411 on the Refinished Gray Cabinet
Supplies:
Paint, (custom blend), 4" paint brush, 120 and 220 grit sandpaper, Minwax Polyurethane clear semi gloss, extra fine sanding block, two cloths
Technique:
-Removed cabinet doors and hardware
-Used 120 grit sandpaper, (with electric vibrating sander), to strip the surface down to a smooth 'raw' wood, (removing the 'shiny' finish)
-Removed all sawdust with a damp cloth. Then used a dry cloth to remove any excess.
-Painted with a 4" brush, (I never paint insides of cabinets or drawers), let dry over night, smoothed surface with an extra fine sanding block and painted a quick second coat. Let dry.
-Lightly distressed using 220 grit sandpaper
-Sealed using Minwax Polyurethane clear semi gloss, (applied evenly with a slightly damp sponge)
-Reattached hardware and put the doors back on